NORWICH — Last week, the Chenango County Planning Department hosted their first Clean Energy Communities (CEC) event of 2024, at Hidden Springs Brewhouse. 
Cornell Cooperative CEC Coordinator of the Southern Tier Chris Skawski and representatives from Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow (NEST) presented information to educate and encourage municipal leaders and residents to participate in the programs offered by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Skawski said Clean Energy Communities is a statewide program that helps city, town, and village governments set the scope of projects to move along energy transition, which New York State (NYS) has committed to participate in.
He said Chenango County has been very active in the program so far, and has been great to work with. They completed a number of High Impact Actions, including several County-Hosted Trainings to prepare municipal staff for clean energy projects in their communities.
“One that we are actively working on is the Community Campaign for Clean Heating and Cooling,” said Skawski. “In this action, municipalities can play an active role in connecting residents to information about clean energy home heating and cooling solutions.”
“Heat Pumps are still a pretty new technology around here,” said Skawski. “Most folks are still using natural gas or delivered fuel in their boilers to heat their homes.”
“But recently, more and more heat pumps are built to handle cold climates like ours,” he added. “Which makes them really strong options for this area.”
He said most people may not know this and may not know how to navigate around the programs of incentives and rebates, so they partnered with Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow (NEST) to try and get the word out.
Skawski said, “Local installers were in attendance to help connect residents with companies who are qualified to install the equipment.”
"Overall, the program helps people realize their options for switching off propane, as well as realize the benefits of energy efficiency,” said Skawski. “The county has taken many steps to reduce energy use, including the county trainings, and code enforcement training for the energy code."
Chenango County Department of Planning and Development  Planner Allison Yacano said Chenango County has worked diligently over the years to ensure that completion of most actions under the Clean Energy Communities program have taken place.
She said Chenango County has been participating in the program for the last six years and has completed 12 High Impact Actions and include: Benchmarking, County Hosted Trainings, Energy Code Enforcement Trainings, Unified Solar Permitting, and Community Campaigns.
The Community Campaigns currently in progress are Community Solar, Clean Heating and Cooling, and Electric Vehicles.
"This program is designed to not only create a sustainable future, but also cut down on costs for Chenango County and the residents,” said Yacano.
She said $180,000 in grant funding has already been awarded to Chenango County over the last six years with $150,000 used in 2018 for a heating retrofit in the County Office Building. She said in 2022, $15,000 was used to install interior and exterior lighting fixtures at Lt. Warren E. Eaton Airport.
“In the last month, we used $15,000 to purchase electric lawn equipment for Chenango County public facilities, as well as the airport,” said Yacano.
“Looking into the future, we hope to complete more actions and obtain additional grant funding to mitigate costs,” she said.
Skawski said the CEC program is still open to towns and villages in Chenango County that could use financial momentum for energy saving projects. Contact Chris Skawski at cjs359@cornell.edu.
Incentives and rebates offered by NYSEG and NYSERDA can be found at www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Heat-Pump-Program.